


Without You

by thingsishouldntbedoing



Series: Ereri Prompts/Drabbles [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M, more prompts, sweeties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-23
Updated: 2013-09-23
Packaged: 2017-12-27 10:51:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/977927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thingsishouldntbedoing/pseuds/thingsishouldntbedoing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Levi gets sick it's Eren's job to take care of him. Even if Levi doesn't like being taken care of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Without You

**Author's Note:**

> THIS HAS BEEN MAJORLY UPDATED SINCE I FIRST POSTED IT A COUPLE HOURS AGO. PLEASE TAKE NOTE!

He couldn’t remember feeling more wretched in his life. He trudged into the pouring rain behind Erwin, listening to the commander run down the list of soldiers as they passed by. He swayed slightly as they paused, watching the maneuver gear course as Jean whirled through it with flying colors. “He’s really the best we’ve ever seen…” He caught the sounds of Erwin’s words over his roaring headache. “What do…” --for a moment everything sounded like it was under water-- “...huh? Levi?” His eyes opened sharply and he snapped his shoulders upright. “Are you feeling alright?” 

He wasn’t. As if he was about to admit to that. “No,” it came out of his rough throat before he could stop it. “I’m fine.” His windpipe was thick with mucus and he tried to keep from coughing or clearing his throat. “Mhmm.” Okay so that didn’t go well. 

“I think you’re starting to get sick,” Erwin squinted at him through the rain. “Why don’t you go get some rest, you’ve been going for such a long time.” 

“ _No_ ,” he cleared his throat again. Oh saints every time he did that his world spun. Wait… why hadn’t it stopped? Everything was suddenly indistinct, the only thing he managed to focus on was the sound of someone yelling his name. 

\--- 

When he came to he was warm. Too warm. He coughed heavily, struggling to sit up, then a hand was there to push him up and lean him over his knees; another held a kerchief to his face. He lifted his arms, hands cradling the tanned wrist and fingers as he choked, feeling the reassuring thump of fingers between his shoulderblades. He took a few shallow breaths, head spinning again, who the hell was here? He examined the hand as it withdrew, searching with blurry eyes for the person it belonged to. 

“You need to eat something,” a familiar voice told him and he searched the abdomen and chest for some sign of who it was before his face swam into view. 

“Jaeger.” 

Eren felt his heart break, the voice that came out wasn’t his captain’s. It was weak and brittle, hindered by the infection in his bronchi, and it made him cough again. “Captain please…” He thumped him gently on the back, holding another kerchief to his face. He didn’t even bat an eyelash at mucus, in fact, as Levi noticed with revulsion, he looked at it directly before tossing it into the hamper. 

“S’wrong with you?” Eren didn’t answer, fluffing Levi’s pillows gently. “Jaeger I asked you a qu--” 

Another coughing fit. 

Eren sighed a little and repeated his previous actions, cool fingers soothing the side of his feverish face this time. Levi groaned and finally allowed himself to be pushed down onto the bed. “You need to take care of yourself.” He opened a jar of salve. 

“Don’t put that on me, br--” Too late, his fingers were already smearing the thick ooze over his collarbones. Somehow he did feel a little better as he tried to breathe in, coughing a little. “Ugh…” 

“Just relax, you’re really sick.” Eren said soothingly before rising to answer a knock at the door. 

“The cooks sent this up,” a soft voice said through a crack in the door --Arlert, Levi thought-- “It’s still hot.” 

“Thanks.” 

“How is he?” 

“He’s awake at least, stubborn as ever.” They both shared a private chuckle and Levi wanted to tell them he could hear them _shitty brats_ but he couldn’t even sit up… so he settled for coughing. _Ha that’ll teach him._ But that backfired too because he was left struggling to roll over and cough heavily over the side of the bed. “What are you doing?” Eren scolded as he hurried over, bowl in his hands steaming angrily. 

“It’ll be a cold day in hell before you spoon feed me, Jaeger.” Levi said in protest once he was comfortable again. 

“Don’t make me do the airplane~” Eren said playfully but Levi could see the concern in his eyes. He wondered how sick the kid thought he was… it was like a head cold. 

“I can feed myself,” he rasped. 

“You can’t even sit up on your own.” 

“Damn it Jaeg--” More coughing. More god _damned_ coughing. 

“Just let me feed you, then you can get some rest okay?” Eren told him and filled the deep spoon with what looked like hot piss. 

“What is it?” He croaked at the spoon directed at his face. 

“Titan piss, tastes like chicken.” 

“Smart a--” The spoon was shoved into his mouth and hot broth spilled over his tongue. _Heaven._ He closed his eyes and swallowed it down. Oh saints it burned the whole way down and it felt so _good_. “Mmm…” 

“See it’s helping,” Eren poked his lips with the spoon again and Levi looked up at him with feverish grey eyes. Eren couldn’t help but note the deep flush in his cheeks, the fever light in his eyes. He looked sweet with his hair pushed back from his face, eyes shuttering closed with each spoonful. It was an intimate moment for them; the quiet sounds of Levi eating combined with his soft wheezing breath made Eren’s heart quake. Levi _trusted_ him. That must be why he hadn’t sent him out of the room or made him get someone else. Despite his complaining Eren had a feeling, or rather a hope, Levi liked him a lot more than he was letting on. 

“Why you?” Levi asked and it was like a shot to the heart. 

“Wh-What?” A droplet of broth hit the blanket and Levi scowled. 

“Why are you in here? Taking care of me? Don’t you have better things to be doing?” He rasped. 

“I… no… not really.” He muttered, shoving the spoon in his mouth again before he could protest. “I carried you up here when you passed out and I guess I can’t get sick so it just seemed natural for me to stay here with you.” 

“Hmm…” Levi placidly accepted another spoonful. 

“Plus you have a really bad infection… you let it go too long and… I hope I’m getting it under control with rest… we have some penicillin but I don’t think you should take it yet. It’s usually better to see if your body can destroy the bacteria before you start taking medicine for it.” He told him. 

Levi understood then why Eren had been left with him. _The kid’s father is a doctor. He had to pick up some of that._ “I’m okay…” He muttered at the spoon and Eren set the broth aside. “‘M okay…” he closed his eyes, feeling warm. “Eren…” 

“Here let me…” He caught his head in his hand and pulled pillows out from under him, letting him lay down and curl up. “Do you need anything else?” He pulled the blankets up over him gently and tucked them in around his feet. 

A pang of affection for the boy shot through his chest and Levi smiled. _Brat._

Levi smiled. 

_Levi_ smiled. 

Eren’s heart stuttered and he coughed to hide his blush. _I can’t believe it… i-it must be the fever._

“I’m… okay brat,” he murmured and nuzzled into his pillow with a soft sigh. He was asleep in seconds, breathing evening out. 

_I wish you’d take care of yourself._ Eren thought as he watched him sleep. _I don’t know what we’d do without you._ He smoothed a piece of his hair behind his ear and let his fingers linger there. _I don’t know what I’d do without you._ He tugged the hem of the blanket over his shoulder just to have something to do with his hands. 

“Eren…” He heard Levi said his name and snapped to attention, searching his feverish face… but it was just a dream. 

_He’s dreaming about me._ His stomach fluttered and he rested his chin on his arms to watch him sleep. _I wouldn’t know what to do without you._ He thought again as he traced the relaxed lines of his face. 

\--- 

Eren woke to the sound of coughing and groggily reached for more kerchiefs only to find that there were none. _Shit I should have done laundry_. He thumped Levi on the back and used a towel instead, apologizing for the roughness of the fabric. After a moment the coughing had calmed and Eren checked his temperature. 

“Jaeger go away,” Levi grumbled. 

“I can’t I have to take care of you.” 

“I have to piss and I’m not going to have you hold my dick,” he sat up with some effort and Eren caught his shoulder. 

“I’m at least going to go in with you… I don’t want you passing out again because the stone is harder than mud.” 

“No shit?” Levi grouched and let Eren help him out of the bed. “Like a goddamn invalid.” 

“Most invalids are nicer than you.” 

“Jaeger I will end you if you say another goddamn word.” Levi leaned heavily on the titan shifter and shuffled into his bathroom. He looked longingly at the shining white porcelain of his bathtub, feeling sweaty and disgusting, “I’m going to bathe.” 

“You shouldn’t get wet, just rest.” 

“Did I fucking stut--” He coughed and Eren caught him in his arms as it wracked his body… come to think of it a hot bath might be good for him. Heat and steam loosened the lymph from the lungs and bronchi. “Ugh…” 

“Okay you can take a bath. A hot one.” Eren said. 

Levi was going to retort but at this point Eren was stronger than he was so there wasn’t much hope of fighting back. At least he got what he wanted. He shuffled over to the toilet as Eren started the water, letting it run over his fingers. It was humiliating to be like this… leaning on this kid for support and barely able to sit up on his own… he pressed his hand to the wall to support himself and tugged his pants down. He was going to be naked shortly anyway. 

Eren glanced over and blinked, flushing as he turned back to the filling water. _Ah yes a bath means naked._ Not that it should have bothered him. He’d seen plenty of people naked. The recruits all showered together in the coldest damned ice water their superiors could find. Men and women alike clashed together, fighting to get done as quickly as possible. It was nice to be at Utgard where he didn’t have to wrestle the soap away from Reiner hanging brain. He laughed. 

“What’s so funny?” Levi asked critically through his stopped up face. 

“Oh… I was just thinking about some stuff,” Eren looked over as Levi pulled his shirt off and threw it in the hamper. His pale skin was flushed with fever, still freckled with the dirt Eren hadn’t been able to wipe off, somehow Eren hadn’t imagined this was what he’d look like naked. He was _thick_. All firm muscle and hard abs and corded thighs. He could see where the maneuver gear sank into his skin, places where blisters had become callouses and bruises that never healed or fresh ones from being jerked to a stop. 

“See something you like Jaeger?” It was hard to be playful when you coughed up phlegm after every word. “This is miserable…” he growled around the mucus. 

Eren snorted behind his hand, looking away, “I poured a bath.” 

“I can see, _Eren_.” 

“Well come here so I can help you in.” 

“I can get in the bath myself!” 

“Alright I’d like to see you try.” 

Levi glared at him furiously but walked over to the bath, stopping to couch over the steam. “What are you doing sitting there with that shit eating grin? Get me more handkerchiefs.” He grabbed Eren’s shoulder without saying another word and used him as support to get into the hot water. He groaned openly as he sank in to his eyeballs. 

“Will you stay there until I come back?” Eren felt like he didn’t have to ask, smiling as Levi released bubbles from under the water in response. “Okay. Don’t move.” He could finally clean up a bit, picking up dirty clothes and kerchiefs. He even carried the bowl down to the kitchens once he’d rinsed it out. Levi would probably rest better without all the clutter. 

When he returned he found Levi in the exact same position he’d left him in, happily soaking in the hot water, it was the first time since he’d collapsed that Eren thought he looked at peace. He had coughed quite a lot while Eren was cleaning up; with the phlegm loosening in his chest coughing was the best way to get it out, and it was good to know he was resting a little more easily now. 

He reached out and pushed Levi’s hair back from his face gently, watching the grey eyes open to look up at him. Another intimate moment as Eren stroked sweat and water off his brow. _He doesn’t look mad at me._ Levi’s eyes closed once more, as if he were only checking to make sure it was Eren, and the shifter smiled. _He’s so cute._

He helped him out of the water and dried him off with gentle hands, helping him into clean and crisp pajama pants. He wrapped an arm around his waist and led him into the other room where he’d made the bed with fresh sheets… and as he laid him down and heard his murmured ‘thank you’ sadness struck him like a bolt of lightening. His eyes burned fiercely and all he could see was the empty bed. _He could have collapsed and never come back. He could have gotten so sick we’d never have him anymore. He’s this weak and..._

Levi watched the boy break down, completely and utterly confused. He wondered if it was something he’d done, something he’d said… but he couldn’t think of a single thing that would have set him off just then. “Eren?” He croaked and reached out to him. “What’s happening?” Heavy tears hit the sheets and he pulled him down until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. “Eren?” He coughed into a kerchief Eren had handed him, wrapping his arms around him. 

“P-Please take care of yourself,” Eren trembled. He was nearly sick with the thought of losing him, with the thought of watching him waste away and then… then one day he’d come back into the room and he wouldn’t be there anymore. Gone. Just like that. “Please Levi you can’t… do this…” He clutched him to his warm chest and Levi relaxed against him. “Promise me! Promise me that next time you won’t let it get this bad.” 

_Is that what this is about?_ He furrowed his brows and coughed lightly, resting his chin on the boy’s shoulder. _Brat… trying to make me promise stuff._ “I promise,” He murmured. “Okay? I promise will you stop crying?” 

Eren nodded and held him a little tighter, “We have to kill all the titans… together we… we can’t do it without each other…” 

“I know, Eren,” he stroked his hair. 

“I love you… you can’t leave me.” His admission came in a rush and it send jolts of electricity down Levi’s spine. “You can’t… neglect yourself…” Affection filled his gut and he wrapped his arms around Eren. 

“I won’t. I promise. Get some rest, brat, you’ve been up all night taking care of me.” He said softly. He wasn’t going to mention his confession… not just yet. 

Eren hiccuped and nodded, wiping away his tears on his sleeve. “I’ll… let me get a chair.” 

“Stay here.” Levi told him, shifting to the side. “There’s more than enough room on the bed.” 

Eren hesitated but Levi shot him a look so he climbed into the bed, slipping under the covers still sniffling. “P-People are going to think you got me sick.” 

“Well then I’ll just have to lock you in the basement until you get better,” Levi told him as Eren nestled down on the pillows. 

“That’s not very nice.” 

“I’m not very nice,” a smile flickered across his face as he closed his eyes and Eren rested their foreheads together, feet crossing beneath the blanket. 

“If you get sick again I’ll… just have to take care of you again.” 

“No more titan piss jokes okay?” 

“Okay…” There was a laugh in Eren’s voice as he dozed off, curling his arms around his captain as he did. 

\--- 

“Eren?” The door to the room opened the next morning and Armin peered in through the crack. A shaft of light fell across the bed from the window, casting light on the sleeping forms tucked under the blankets. Limbs and faces tucked into the most comfortable positions, bodies relaxed and wrapped together. They looked so sweet he didn’t dare bother them. _I’m glad… they both needed a break._ He smiled and felt someone squeeze his butt as they passed, glancing to catch a smirk on Jean’s face before following him and shutting the door softly. _I’ll just let them sleep_.


End file.
